On the evening of December 13, 2023, the Chinese Embassy in the United States held an event to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the event and delivered remarks.

Ambassador Xie said that starting with ping-pong diplomacy, sport has served as a bridge between our two peoples. Yao Ming, who played for the Houston Rockets, has many fans in the United States. Earlier this year, NBA star Jimmy Butler travelled to Taipan Village, Guizhou Province to take part in China’s famous grassroots basketball tournament “VBA” (Village Basketball Association). During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chinese and American curlers exchanged pins after their match, and the hug with tears of joy between aerial skiers Ashley Caldwell and Xu Mengtao after Xu won gold melted the hearts of many.

Ambassador Xie said that sport is an integral part of both Eastern and Western civilizations. It is both about striving for the better, and about respecting and learning from each other to make progress together. It is about abiding by rules and ensuring fair play. One cannot be both the judge and the athlete, tie the hands of their competitors, still less deny others an opportunity to be part of the game. One should focus on improving themselves instead of bringing others down, and play by the rule of the game instead of ganging up on the other side. Sport is also about embracing openness and inclusiveness, and rising above differences. There is no reason why competitors cannot also be friends.

Ambassador Xie said that in recent years, the China-U.S. relationship has been at the lowest point since the diplomatic ties began, with a chill looming over exchanges and cooperation in various fields. This does not serve the interests of either side. The Cold War already ended, and there is no reason to reverse course. Since China and the United States managed to break the 22-year-long ice 52 years ago, we should have even greater confidence today to shake off the Cold War mentality, defy the “political correctness”, and leap across the trap of major-country conflict.

Ambassador Xie said that as a Chinese proverb puts it, it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice. Naturally, the ice cannot thaw overnight. President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden just concluded a successful summit meeting in San Francisco, and our two countries will soon celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The era is calling on us to draw wisdom and strength from ping-pong diplomacy. We hope the U.S. side will work together with us, develop a correct perception toward each other, start with concrete steps from now, act on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and prevail over the zero-sum narrative with success stories of mutually beneficial cooperation.